The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that about 20,000 residents in the Bicol Region have already been evacuated amid Mayon Volcano's high-level of unrest.
According to its recent situational report, NDRRMC said that 19,062 people, or 5,492 families, are now inside 28 evacuation facilities, while 1,057 people, or 300 families, are seeking shelter outside of evacuation centers.
Mayon Volcano, which is currently on Alert Level 3 due to heightened disturbance or magmatic unrest, has impacted 38,979 people, or 10,123 families, across 26 barangays in Bicol Region.
No casualties or missing persons have been recorded so far, according to the NDRRMC.
Eugene Escobar, officer-in-charge of the Albay Public Safety and Management Office (APSEMO), said that the number of evacuees increased as people living within a seven-kilometer radius of the Mayon Volcano's danger zone were also transported to other towns.
On the other hand, Albay Governor Edcel Greco Lagman also stated on Thursday that the provincial government is thinking of permanently relocating citizens living within the six-kilometer PDZ radius.
Based on the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) report, the "very slow" effusion of lava from the Mayon Volcano's summit dome has spread as far as 1.5 kilometers along the Mi-isi gullies.
PHIVOLCS also reported three volcanic earthquakes, 274 rockfall events, and 11 pyroclastic density current events in the last 24 hours.
The NDRRMC said that assistance worth P62,426,692 has also been provided to impacted communities.
